No. 5 Bulldogs blanked by No. 7 Ole Miss

STARKVILLE, Miss. — The No. 5 Mississippi State baseball team was limited to just one hit in Saturday’s 9-0 loss to Ole Miss in the second game of a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field.

The Bulldogs fall to 26-8 (9-5 SEC), while the Rebels improve to 26-9 (9-5 SEC).

MSU sophomore starting pitcher Will Bednar (2-1) was charged with the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks in three innings pitched.

Ole Miss junior starting pitcher Doug Nikhazy (4-1) had a no-hitter through 4 ¹⁄₃ innings before senior Brayland Skinner singled up the middle. Nikhazy struck out 12 batters and walked two in a full nine innings pitched.

In the top of the first inning, freshman Jacob Gonzalez drew a walk, moved to second on a groundout and scored on sophomore Hayden Dunhurst’s RBI double down the right-field line to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.

Freshman TJ McCants hit a leadoff triple to center field in the top of the second inning and scored on senior Cael Baker’s RBI double to make it 2-0. Back-to-back singles began the top of the third inning before a fielder’s choice plated the third run of the game.

Senior Hayden Leatherwood led off the top of the fourth inning with a home run to right-center. Bednar then hit Baker with a pitch and freshman Calvin Harris followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly scored one run before sophomore Peyton Chatagnier’s RBI single up the middle made it a 6-0 ballgame.

In the top of the fifth inning, a trio of singles by junior Justin Bench, McCants and Baker scored a run. Senior Ben Van Cleve then hit a pinch-hit double to increase the Ole Miss lead to 8-0.

An RBI double to right-center from Gonzalez ended the game’s scoring at 9-0.

The Bulldogs and Rebels will hit the diamond again Sunday at 1 p.m. CT to decide the series. The game will be streaming on SEC Network+.